TAMPA, Fla. — According to the American Community Survey done by the U.S. Census, approximately 3.6 percent of the U.S. population considers themselves deaf or hard of hearing.

Although there are schools that help to accommodate those with hearing needs, it can still be difficult, especially for Hispanics who, for them, it’s rare for educational programs to cater to teaching Latin American signed languages.

That’s the case for Patti Sanchez — although it may look like a typical trip to the mall for her, she’s there on a mission: to help her client find the perfect outfit.

“We came today to find a sweater that he needs for his new job because it’s very cold at the warehouse, and then a comfortable shoe, and it’s been approved by the vocational rehabilitation,” she said.

It’s all part of her job as an employment specialist — a job she’s been doing for 12 years.

Read on at https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2023/11/21/latins-who-are-deaf-face-may-challenges-?fbclid=IwAR2FyrkOrTmkugFVAeMOaQUbs1IldosNcU4QQEFqYe0ppJWfgZZF30oWIGw

 

A deaf man who says a truck driving company told him that they would not hire him because he couldn’t hear won over $36 million in damages by a jury a month ago.

Victor Robinson, who is in his 40s and has lived his whole life deaf, told ABC News that Werner Enterprises trucking company passed him in their commercial driver’s license (CDL) training program, but when he applied for a job in 2016, the company’s Vice President of Safety and Compliance Jamie Hamm, who was Jamie Maus at the time, told him he wouldn’t get the job.

“It was really intense,” Robinson told ABC News through an interpreter. “The person said, ‘We can’t hire you because you can’t hear,’ and hung up [the video call]. And there it was. The end. And I got to the point where I didn’t know what else to do.”

Robinson eventually reached out to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). They reviewed his case and decided to file a lawsuit against Werner.

“That fact has baffled us from the beginning,” Josh Pierson, Robinson’s lawyer, told ABC News. “The fact that Victor and other deaf drivers can complete training school, can get their CDL, even attend training schools owned by Werner but then aren’t allowed to drive for the company, ultimately.”

Read on at https://abcnews.go.com/US/deaf-truck-driver-awarded-36m-jury-discrimination/story?id=103764881&fbclid=IwAR2eruCHHbLJwxreCRUTwpHmkySOK9USjnJ4ARVpjui8kpoJ73do8CIKgPQ